Saiyans On The Road
by Thanos6
Summary: What happens when Goku gets his hands on the Namekian Dragonballs? I think you'll be surprised! The beginning of the "Royalty Series!"
1. The Namek Games...

Hello all! This is my first DBZ fanfic--in fact, it's my first fanfic on this site at all. I decided that the best way to start out would be with a humorous fic; hence, this thing. It's based on an idea I got at 1 AM, which may account for some of the bizarreness of it. It takes place inbetween the destruction of Majin Buu and the brief glimpse of the future seen at the end of DBZ. It's largely from Vegeta's perspective. Enjoy!  
  
***  
  
Many people know of the great enemies fought and defeated by the Earth's Special Forces. The memories of Cell and Buu are all too fresh in their minds--albeit, memories changed and twisted by a shameless self-promoter. Some of the old-timers are priviliged enough to remember the battle against Piccolo Dai-Mao.  
  
But very few "civilians" are aware of the journey to Namek and the epic struggle against Freeza. And thus, if they were to witness what was about to happen on the planet New Namek, it would mean very little to them--aside from seeing an enormous dragon appear, that is.  
  
***  
  
Hm. Perhaps some backstory is needed, at this point.  
  
A few years ago, the matriarchs of the Son and Briefs dynasties decided that their respective families needed to see each other more than simply to spar. Thus, after much planning, they organized a way to make sure they got together peacefully at least twice a year.  
  
The Namekian Dragonball Hunt.  
  
The Nameks had no real desire for the Dragonballs themselves--they were basically a peaceful people--and so Elder Muri agreed that, every 180 days, that Porunga, the dragon of Namek, could be summoned to grant three wishes. Elder Muri's one request was that the wishes not be for anything violent. Everyone happily agreed, except for Vegeta, who looked disappointed.  
  
Word of this had spread to the friends and allies of the two families, and soon it had turned into a semi-annual outing for the whole gang.  
  
***  
  
Here's how the rules work:  
  
Everyone who desired to get their wishes granted wrote their name on a piece of paper and dropped it in a hat. Goku, who could be trusted not to cheat, would shake the hat around and then draw out a name.  
  
The person chosen would then, by means of Goku's Instant Transmission, be dropped off on New Namek, equipped with Bulma's Dragon Radar and whatever they had on them. That person then had twenty-four hours to scour the planet for the Namekian Dragon Balls. This was not usually a problem, as most of them were either planet-destroying demi-gods or equipped with the latest in Capsule Technology. Goku would remain near them, ready to help in case something went wrong.  
  
Once all seven of the Dragonballs were collected, Goku would bring the rest of the "crowd" to Namek to watch as, with Dende's help, the dragon Porunga was summoned and the three wishes were granted.  
  
***  
  
There. Enough backstory.  
  
The first winner of the contest had been Juuhachigou--Android #18--who had wished for fifty million zeni, a whole new wardrobe, and fifty million more zeni.  
  
The second winner had been Trunks. He had wished for a big sword, another big sword for Goten so they could duel (much to the despair of Chi-Chi and Bulma), and a wish to see someone Trunks remembered only as a vague memory from his childhood. As it turned out, this had been an alternate reality version of himself, who seemed to be extremely shocked when confronting himself. The two Saiyan hybrids had talked for a while, and then they had engaged in a friendly bout of sparring before Porunga had returned him to the future.  
  
The third winner had been Vegeta. As the others watched a bit nervously, Vegeta rubbed his gloved hands and looked almost...happy (Bulma noted that this was rare).  
  
***  
  
"Porunga, mighty dragon, hear my words!" Vegeta had shouted up at the enormous beast. "My first wish is for myself to rule the universe as head of a new Saiyan Emp--"  
  
He had stopped at a lancing look from Bulma. "New Saiyan Empire? Oh, come on. Too much of a hassle."  
  
"Change that. I wish for myself, my mate, and my offspring to be immort--"  
  
Bulma gave him another look. "And watch as all our friends wither and die? Yeah, nice and cheerful. Next."  
  
"Baka. In that case, I wish to receive power equal to that of Kakarot's, and the ability to go the third level of Super Saiyan!"  
  
He had managed to yell this out before Bulma could stop him.  
  
Porunga spoke in a deep voice. "Your wish...is granted."  
  
The prince of all Saiyans felt a tremendous power enter him. It felt...excellent. He couldn't wait to go to the third level and fight Kakarot, but the angry glare Bulma was giving him informed him that he was in for it big time.  
  
"My second wish is for me to always know what my mate will want for any...holidays," he managed to squeeze out the word, "so I may get her the best gift possible."  
  
"Your wish...is granted."  
  
Vegeta didn't feel any different, but then he thought *What does she want for her birthday?* and he immediately got an answer inside his head. He grinned. *Excellent, I won't repeat the fruitcake fiasco.*  
  
He risked a glance over. Bulma looked slightly mollified, while the others were staring in frank amazement; but Vegeta could not ascertain whether this was because of his new power or the fact he had used a wish on Bulma.  
  
He pondered what his third wish should be. Suddenly, he had a great idea, one that would provide him with years of amusement.  
  
He waved his family over, and before they could speak, he had them arranged in what he could remember as the most ridiculous camera pose he could remember.  
  
*Let's see...how did Kakarot do it? Ah, yes.*  
  
He slipped an arm around his wife, and shoved Trunks in front of them.  
  
"Now, dragon, here is my wish..."  
  
***  
  
Hell. It is not a nice place. Of course, it's inhabitants are not nice people.  
  
But every now and then someone mystically inclined would send mail to one of the inhabitants, so occasionally a delivery ogre would be sent by Lord Enma to give the recipients their mail.  
  
"Mail call! Ok, is there a Mr. Freeza here?"  
  
Freeza jerked his head up. Mail? For him?  
  
"That would be me, you fool."  
  
"Got some mail for you. Also...let me see...King Cold, Cell, Jeice, Baata, Recoome, Guldo, Zarbon, Dodoria, Kiwi, and Babidi? You all got mail."  
  
The various cosmic villains lined up to receive their mail.  
  
"Who in the cosmos would be writing to us?" asked King Cold.  
  
"I do not know, but by the Grand Kaio, he had better have a good reason," snarled Cell.  
  
Freeza opened his envelope, and removed the contents. It was not a letter, but a photograph. That fool Vegeta was standing, smiling a ridiculous grin. He had an arm wrapped around a woman, and in front of them--  
  
A small purple-haired boy.  
  
Freeza choked in rage. But that was not all. There was also some writing on the photograph.  
  
"I hope you all are enjoying your stay. See me when you get out. Love, Vegeta and FAMILY."  
  
The roars of rage could be heard throughout all of Hell.  
  
***  
  
Vegeta held out his hands as a photograph, taken through the power of Porunga himself, fell into his hands. He looked at it, and laughed at the looks of mingled anger, fear, and hatred on the faces of Hell's worst inhabitants. Later, after he had returned to Capsule Corporation, he had had it blown up and hung over his bed.  
  
***  
  
Vegeta smiled at the memory. This time, it had been Kakarot--the one the others called Son Goku--who had won. Vegeta was interested in seeing what he would wish for.  
  
"Well, in all this sparring I've been doing, my gi's keep getting destroyed. So my first wish is for a lifetime supply of these gi's, like the one I'm wearing now."  
  
"Your wish...is granted."  
  
Vegeta rolled his eyes. *Only Kakarot...*  
  
"Where are they?"  
  
"At your home on Earth."  
  
Vegeta smirked. That would be interesting, to see hundreds--if not thousands--of gi's cramming Kakarot's home. He might have to take a detour to see it.  
  
"My second wish is for the Kaio of this quadrant, North Kaio-sama, to be returned to life, along with his friends Bubbles and Gregory."  
  
"Your wish...is granted."  
  
"My third wish is for all the food I can eat."  
  
"That wish...cannot be granted. It is beyond my power to do so."  
  
Vegeta let out a small laugh, and he was not the only one to do so; most of those gathered there were laughing at the bewildered Saiyan.  
  
"Well then...hmm, third wish...I got it! You knew, one of the things I regret is I never really got to know my family."  
  
Bulma whispered to Vegeta, "Watch this. He'll probably wish for his grandfather, Son Gohan, to return to life." The Namekian Dragonballs had no limit on who they could revive, nor on how long the desired person was dead.  
  
"So I wish for my father Bardock and my brother Raditz to be returned to life. In fact, I'd like to learn more about Saiyans, so restore those two as well as the Saiyan known as Nappa and place them here."  
  
Everyone stared for a moment. Kakarot had never even met his father, but had merely heard of him through Vegeta. Both Raditz and Nappa had tried to kill him. And he wanted them REVIVED?  
  
"Your wish...is granted."  
  
The dragon vanished in a huge burst of light, and the seven Dragonballs flew to far distant points of New Namek.  
  
Then, three figures suddenly appeared. One looked for all the world like a clone of Kakarot. That would be Bardock.  
  
Another had very long, spiky black hair. That would be Raditz, Kakarot's brother and the other son of Bardock.  
  
The last was tall, muscular, and bald. That would be Nappa, Vegeta's "bodyguard" and partner.  
  
They were laying on the ground. Bardock was the first to rise, and his gaze fell first on his son.  
  
"Who...who are you?"  
  
"Are you Bardock?"  
  
"Yes, that's me."  
  
"Great! My name is Goku, but you would probably call me Kakarot."  
  
"Ka...Kakarot? My son?"  
  
"So I hear."  
  
"But what happened? I thought Freeza had killed me."  
  
"He did. It's a long story--"  
  
There was a grunt. Nappa had risen to his feet. As everyone stood back a bit to watch, Nappa also saw Kakarot.  
  
"Uhh...you! What are you doing here?!"  
  
Another grunt. Raditz had risen as well.  
  
"Brother! What?!"  
  
Bardock looked back at his other son.  
  
"Raditz...is that you? Yes, I recognize you by your hair."  
  
Vegeta smirked; that was one thing about full-blooded Saiyans. Once it was fully grown, their hair didn't grow anymore, at all. And if cut, it would not grow back; that explained Nappa.  
  
"Father? What are YOU doing here?!"  
  
The four Saiyans began to bombard one another with questions, while everyone else watched in amusement. Soon, however, Vegeta began to grow impatient.  
  
"Shut up, you fools!"  
  
At the sound of his voice, Raditz and Nappa immediately whirled to face him and dropped to one knee. Bardock turned around to see who it was, then knelt as well. Kakarot simply looked puzzled.  
  
"Vegeta? Why are they kneeling?"  
  
"I'm their prince, they have to kneel. As should you," he added nastily.  
  
"But...but my father hasn't seen you in years, how does he know you?"  
  
Vegeta smirked and pointed to his hair. "This type of hair is found only in the royal bloodline. It immediately identifies the Saiyan in question as royalty."  
  
He turned to Bardock, Nappa, and Raditz. "You may rise."  
  
"Thank you, sire," said Bardock. Then he appeared to notice something. "Sire, what happened to your tail?"  
  
"I lost it in a great battle--"  
  
Kakarot interrupted him. "Yajirobe, the one over there, cut it off."  
  
There was a moment while everyone tried to make room in their minds that this fat little man could cut off the tail of a Saiyan super-elite. They couldn't. They began to snicker.  
  
"BAKA! SHUT UP!"  
  
"S...sorry, Vegeta," said Nappa, trying not to laugh.  
  
"And it wasn't just him. I was fighting him, Kakarot, Kakarot's brat, and that short little man over there at the same time."  
  
Bardock looked interested. "Kakarot's brat? He has a son?"  
  
"Yes. That's him over there." He gestured in the general direction of Gohan, who was watching curiously with Videl and Mr. Satan.  
  
Bardock walked over to Goku. As Mr. Satan crouched behind a convenient rock, Videl took Gohan's arm.  
  
"Ah. So you're my grandson. What's your name?"  
  
"Gohan, sir."  
  
"Gohan, sounds like a good name. And is this your mate?"  
  
"Umm, you could put it like that sir. Her name is Videl." The look Videl shot him told him he was going to pay for that one.  
  
"Good, good. I guess you're only half-Saiyan, so you can't be as strong as your father, but let's see what you've got."  
  
Vegeta tried--unsuccessfully--to hide a smirk. Nappa spoke up.  
  
"Bardock, you idiot, we found out that half-Saiyans are STRONGER than full bloods."  
  
Bardock looked shocked. "Stronger?"  
  
"Yes," said Raditz. "I found out the hard way."  
  
Kakarot turned to Vegeta. "Um, isn't Nappa mad at you for killing him?"  
  
"No, he is a Saiyan warrior. He understands. Right, Nappa?"  
  
Nappa looked ambivalent.  
  
"RIGHT, NAPPA?" Vegeta growled.  
  
"Yes, of course sire."  
  
Bulma spoke up. "Goku, did you give any thought as to what you're going to DO with these three? You can't just let three Saiyans roam the universe unchecked."  
  
Kakarot looked puzzled. "Um...well, we have room for one more at my house...Father?"  
  
Chi-Chi erupted. "WHAT? I'm already having to feed and look after you, me, my father, and Goten! And now you want me to add your father?!  
  
"Yeah...if it's not too much trouble."  
  
Chi-Chi sighed. "Sure...why not."  
  
Bulma spoke up. "And there's room enough at Capsule Corp for you two...as long as you behave yourselves."  
  
Nappa grinned. "Oh, of course. No trouble at all."  
  
"Well then," said Kakarot, "let's go back."  
  
"Wait a moment," said Vegeta. "I want to speak to you. All of you full-blooded Saiyans."  
  
The five of them walked a short distance away from the rest of the Earth's Special Forces.  
  
"Any idea what they're talking about?" said Kuririn.  
  
"No," said Yamcha, "but I have to admit, I don't like the idea of those two back. Or Bardock. They could cause trouble."  
  
***  
  
When Vegeta had stopped the group, Nappa was the first to speak up.  
  
"Let me guess, you want to lay down the sleeping arrangements with the blue-haired female. Fine by--"  
  
In the blink of an eye, Vegeta had grabbed Nappa's throat in his hand.  
  
"You could put it like that. She is MINE. I have taken her as my mate and--by the customs of Earth--my wife."  
  
Raditz looked stunned. "Mate? Y-you took a MATE?"  
  
Kakarot was puzzled, not too uncommon for him. "Is something wrong?"  
  
Bardock spoke up, and he sounded confused also. "Among Saiyans, normally only the lower-class warriors such as myself take mates. The elites, such as his Highness, can take any female they wish and do thus not usually bother with mates."  
  
Kakarot smiled cheerfully at Vegeta. "Aww. You must really care about her, huh Vegeta?"  
  
"SHUT UP KAKAROT!"  
  
***  
  
Kakarot had gathered them all up in a group for the Instant Transmission, although Raditz had expressed some nervousness at the idea of travelling with Piccolo.  
  
Once back on Earth, they had gone their separate ways.  
  
***  
  
Capsule Corporation. After being introduced to Dr. and Mrs. Briefs, Raditz and Nappa had been taken on a tour by Vegeta.  
  
"And finally, your sleeping quarters. I presume you idiots know how to work devices such as sinks and lamps?"  
  
After curt nods from both, he demanded, "Give me your armor. Both of you."  
  
"What?" they replied.  
  
"Give me your armor. After the...MESSES we caused the first time we arrived here, full Saiyan battle armor is not exactly welcome. I can get my mate to create new sets like the one I wear. In the meantime, I'll find you some clothes."  
  
Vegeta strode away thinking *Now what can I get them? None of my "BADMAN" shirts I use for civilian outings will fit them. Baka. It looks like I'll have to ask the woman to...to help me shop.*  
  
He shuddered. 


	2. Shopping For Saiyans...

The mall. To Bulma, an object of affection. To Vegeta, an object of disgust. But he had no choice; if he wanted to get clothes for the newly revived Saiyans, he would have to go. And that's how the prince of all Saiyans found himself walking through the food court beside his wife, sulking.  
  
"I'm only going to tell you this once. We're just going to find some clothes that fit. The first clothes that fit, we're buying, and I don't care what they look like!"  
  
"Even if they have, say, a pattern of pink flowers?"  
  
Vegeta paused for a moment, his urge to get out of the mall wrestling with his Saiyan pride. Finally, the former won.  
  
"Yes, even if it has a pattern of pink flowers! They are all subjects, they will wear whatever I command them! Now hurry up and finish consuming that pretzel so we can get started!"  
  
***  
  
Bardock was the easiest to shop for. He was almost identical to Kakarot, and Bulma knew Kakarot's measurements for holiday shopping. Therefore, all they had to do was pick up some clothes that would fit Kakarot. They got Bardock a pair of sweatpants and a turtleneck.  
  
"You're just going to get him one set of clothes?" Bulma asked.  
  
"Even a low-class Saiyan like Bardock knows that the material comforts are unnecessary," snapped Vegeta.  
  
***  
  
Raditz was a bit harder to shop for.  
  
"How are we going to find anything that will fit over that hair of his?" groused Bulma.  
  
Eventually, they solved the dilemma by getting him a vest and a pair of jeans.  
  
"Excellent! Now we just have to get something for that bumbling fool Nappa," said Vegeta.  
  
"Hmm...that bumbling fool could be a problem," muttered Bulma as she lead him to the cash register.  
  
"What do you mean? And why are we going here? We have not bought for Nappa yet! Not that I'm complaining," Vegeta added as an afterthought.  
  
"We'll probably have to go to the Big and Tall shop to get something for him."  
  
Vegeta cursed. "And where would that be?"  
  
"The other side of the mall."  
  
"Baka!"  
  
***  
  
Even at the Big and Tall shop, they were hard pressed to get something for the burly Saiyan warrior. The only things that would fit were a blazer and matching pants.  
  
"Great. In these clothes and with that build, he's going to look like a criminal enforcer," said Bulma as they left the store.  
  
"A what?"  
  
"Never mind." 


	3. Memories And Musings...

Capsule Corporation. Vegeta and Bulma had returned from the mall and given Nappa and Raditz their new clothes. Once they had finished changing, it took all of Bulma's willpower to repress a snicker. *Raditz, in a vest...*  
  
"Well, we're dressed in these stupid Earth clothes. Now what do we do?" asked Nappa. He sounded like he was in a bad mood, and quite frankly, Vegeta couldn't blame him. You could put him in a suit, but he was still Nappa. In other words, not built for suits.  
  
"Now we're going to head over to Kakarot's to deliver these clothes to Bardock. Kakarot's mate is making a special dinner for us so that we can catch you fools up on what you've missed since you died. Bulma, go finish getting ready. Trunks, get your lazy ass in here, time to go!"  
  
As Bulma went to finish, a small purple-haired boy rounded the corner. "I'm here, I'm here."  
  
"And just who is this?" asked Raditz.  
  
"That is Trunks, my son and crown prince of the planet Vegetasei."  
  
Raditz smiled playfully and bent down to muss up the boy's hair. Suddenly he found himself embedded in the wall.  
  
Vegeta grinned. "That's my boy."  
  
Bulma returned, carrying Bardock's clothes, in time to see Nappa pull Raditz out of the wall. She noticed that her husband and son were wearing identical smirks. She sighed.  
  
"Trunks, what have I told you about pushing strangers into walls?"  
  
"Sorry, mom."  
  
"Whatever, you always say that then you go ahead and do it again anyway."  
  
Trunks grinned mischeviously. Vegeta spoke up.  
  
"OK, let's go. I'll lead the way. Come here, woman."  
  
Vegeta, carrying Bulma in his arms, took off into the sky, followed by Trunks. Raditz and Nappa did the same.  
  
***  
  
Kakarot's house. Chi-Chi sighed. She'd had to work overtime on this meal. She would be feeding five full-blooded Saiyans, four three-blooded Saiyans, a host of assorted humans and animals, and a Namek.  
  
Thankfully, the Namek only needed water.  
  
That was the only thing to be thankful for. The Saiyans more than made up for the Namek's lack of appetite.  
  
***  
  
Vegeta and company were the last to arrive. Outside, Chi-Chi had set up a series of tables pushed together. The new arrivals seated themselves at the table, with Raditz taking care to sit away from Piccolo. Chi-Chi set the food on the table, but before Kakarot could begin to eat, she stopped him.  
  
"Goku, mind your manners! For once in your life eat like a normal human being! We have...guests."  
  
Kakarot looked disappointed, but began to eat slowly. Bardock smiled.  
  
"I see you kept your Saiyan appetite. Though I must admit, I am at a loss as to why you didn't destroy everything on this planet."  
  
And so the story unfolded. Goku told the tale of all his adventures; Boss Bunny, Emperor Pilaf, the Tenkaichi Budokai, the Red Ribbon Army, Baba's undead fighters, Emperor Pilaf again, another Tenkaichi Budokai, Piccolo Dai-Mao, yet another Tenkaichi Budokai, the fight against the new Piccolo, the invasion of the Saiyans, the trip to Namek, the defeat of Freeza, Mirai Trunks, the Androids, Cell, and Majin Buu. The others added in their own little notes whenever it was appropriate.  
  
By the end, which was several hours later, the new arrivals were gaping in awe.  
  
"Super Saiyans? Y-you're all Super Saiyans?" Raditz stammered.  
  
"Yep," said Goten cheerfully.  
  
"And what are your power levels?" Nappa inquired.  
  
"Well, we can't be sure, but we estimate somewhere in the hundreds of millions," Gohan said matter-of-factly. He enjoyed the expressions on their faces.  
  
***  
  
After the dinner was over, Vegeta had gathered the new arrivals together.  
  
"Your power is pitiful. We need to find some way to raise them. Hmm...Bardock, you train with Goten; Nappa, Raditz, you can train with my son. They're the weakest Saiyans among us. They'll just keep defeating you until you start to get a semi-decent power level."  
  
He turned his back to them.  
  
"Woman! Get the brat, time to go back home!"  
  
***  
  
Later that night, Bardock lay on his bed, musing. Apparently his vision of Kakarot defeating Freeza had come true after all. Not only that, but he was either the third or second strongest being in the universe; which one depended on whether or not your name was Vegeta.  
  
Bardock sighed. Apparently his gift of precognition had vanished with his death.  
  
What DID the future hold? Would he be able to find that "special someone," as Kakarot had with Chi-Chi, and Prince Vegeta had with Bulma? And just what did the Earth hold for a Saiyan?  
  
He pondered these questions for a long time, before he finally fell asleep. It had been a long day.  
  
***  
  
"Raditz." Nappa spoke to his roommate.  
  
"Yes, Nappa?"  
  
"What's happened to Prince Vegeta?"  
  
"You noticed that too, eh?"  
  
"How couldn't you? Having offspring is one thing, but for a super-elite to take a MATE?"  
  
"Kakarot was right, apparently he does really care for her. I bet your throat's still sore." Raditz grinned in the darkness.  
  
Nappa growled, and went to sleep. 


	4. The Ox, The Monkey, And The Two Jokers.....

Kakarot's house. The next morning.  
  
Bardock looked outside one of the windows as Kakarot and Gohan sparred outside. He had not yet acquired the knack for sensing power levels without a scouter, but here, he didn't need it; the power being given off was enormous.  
  
Chi-Chi's father, Gyu-Mao--the Ox King--walked up to him.  
  
"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" he asked.  
  
Bardock nodded in silent reply.  
  
"I know what you're thinking. How could you be so powerful one day, and then so little the next?"  
  
Bardock turned to face him.  
  
"Yeah, I know what you're going through, Bardock. I used to be the feared lord of Frypan Mountain, and now look at me. But I don't mind. The family more than makes up for it. It might take a little time, but you'll see what I mean. Well, I'll talk to you later."  
  
Gyu-Mao walked off. Bardock did a mental re-evaluation of him; apparently he was wiser than he had given him credit for. He looked out the window again. A moment later, his brow furrowed in concentration. Where was Kakarot's other son?  
  
***  
  
Capsule Corporation. Raditz and Nappa walked down the halls, unaware their lives were about to be made a living hell.  
  
"I think the kitchen's this way. They'd better have lots of food," grumbled Nappa.  
  
"They have to feed Prince Vegeta, plus his offspring. Of course they have lots of food."  
  
Raditz felt something on his shoulder, but when he turned around to look, nothing was there.  
  
"What the hell are you doing, Raditz?"  
  
"Thought I felt something. Guess not."  
  
They walked on a for a few more steps. This time it was Nappa who felt it.  
  
"I definitely felt something! Are there some ghosts or something that Prince Vegeta forgot to tell us about?"  
  
As they continued to stare behind them, they missed the two small blurs passing under them.  
  
"Come on, Nappa. Let's just get to the kitchen and have some breakfast. We can ask Prince Vegeta there."  
  
Not too long after, they reached a fork in the hallway. Neither of them remembered which way to go, but fortunately there happened to be a sign reading "Kitchen this way" and indicating the left-hand fork.  
  
It wasn't long before they reached a door labeled "Kitchen." They walked in, then stopped for a moment.  
  
"This isn't the kitchen! It's the damn greenhouse!" shouted Nappa.  
  
"Some fool's been misleading us. Let's go back and take the other fork."  
  
They reached the fork.  
  
"What the hell is this?" yelled Raditz. The sign reading "Kitchen this way" was now pointing to the right-hand fork.  
  
They began to walk down that way, when suddenly they found themselves pushed to the floor. Raditz cried out in pain as he felt his tail get squeezed; Nappa, whose elite bloodline had eliminated that weakness, did not cry out.  
  
But they both gasped at what happened next. Someone had tied their tails together. They managed to hoist themselves up a moment later; there was no one there.  
  
"What now?" Raditz asked.  
  
"We can't let Prince Vegeta see us like this, he'd die laughing. We should go back to our quarters and untie them there."  
  
Slowly, coordinating their movements, the two Saiyan warriors began to head back to their room.  
  
There was a flash of light from around the corner. As Nappa and Raditz turned it, they saw what was apparently a small boy with waist-length, golden, spiky hair. It spoke.  
  
"I am the Legendary Super Saiyan!"  
  
For a moment, Nappa and Raditz simply stood, paralyzed in fear. Then, screaming, they ran in the direction of the kitchen, tangling their tails even worse.  
  
The figure spoke to itself. "Better move, don't want to get caught." It's voice had a strange, reverberating quality.  
  
***  
  
The kitchen. Vegeta was eating his breakfast and reading the newspaper--he liked to complain about the idiocy of many of the news items. Bulma was putting on her makeup.  
  
Nappa and Raditz burst through the door, shrieking like a pair of banshees.  
  
"Shut up! Baka! What the hell is the meaning of this?" Vegeta snarled.  
  
The two managed to pant out their story. By the time they had ended, Vegeta was looking totally unsurprised.  
  
"You wait here. I'll take care of this."  
  
***  
  
25 minutes later, deep inside one of Bulma's labs...  
  
The strange being was laughing its head off. That had been so hilarious! And it would only be about 30 seconds or so now, before the possibility of being caught was eliminated.  
  
"Well, well, well. The Legendary Super Saiyan, in my house."  
  
The being winced, then looked up slowly. Vegeta was floating above him.  
  
"Hello, Gotenks," said the prince of Saiyans, smiling in a nasty sort of way.  
  
Poof.  
  
At that moment, the fusion process wore off. Gotenks disappeared, and left behind him the figures of Goten and Trunks.  
  
"H-hey, father."  
  
"Hello, V-Vegeta-san."  
  
For a long moment, Vegeta simply hovered there. Then his smile turned genuine.  
  
"That was a good one. Someone needed to put those fools in their place. And you almost got away with it. Goten, fly on back to your father's. Trunks, come with me."  
  
Goten waved forlornly and took off. Not saying a word, Vegeta walked out of the lab, down the hallways, and back to the kitchen, with Trunks nervously following.  
  
***  
  
Nappa and Raditz had managed to untangle their tails.  
  
"Well Prince Vegeta? Did you find anything?" Nappa asked.  
  
"No. Now, in case you two idiots should have another fear-induced hallucination, I strongly suggest you take your breakfast back to your room."  
  
The two did as he said. Once they were gone, Vegeta said, "See? I know how to have a little bit of fun myself."  
  
Bulma spoke up. "Trunks, don't tell me YOU were behind this!"  
  
"Who else would it have been? I seriously doubt it could have been your father or mother. And besides, what do you care? It's Nappa and Raditz we're talking about here."  
  
Bulma thought for a second. Then she grinned.  
  
"Job well done, son." 


	5. Sparring, Sarcasm, and the Saiyan Rule.....

That afternoon.  
  
Raditz and Nappa were facing one another inside the gravity chamber. In between them was Trunks.  
  
"All right you fools, my son has lowered his power to approximately your level. Let's see how you can do," Vegeta said. "Go."  
  
The two Saiyan warriors leapt at Trunks. The boy launched himself off the ground, kicking Nappa square in the jaw, then performing a backflip, grabbing Raditz by his hair and swinging him around for a moment before tossing him.  
  
"Well, I did say approximately. What's a few thousand here or there?" Vegeta grinned. "So, are you going to give up?"  
  
"Of course not!" yelled Nappa. "We're Saiyan warriors! We never give up!"  
  
"Well, I'll be back in a bit, I want to see how many times my son can beat you in four hours."  
  
***  
  
Kakarot's house. Approximately the same time.  
  
It was a battle of the generations as Bardock began to face off against Goten, while Kakarot watched from the sky. Goten had repressed his power as well. And since Goten wasn't as cruel as Trunks, this was an actual fight, rather than a massacre.  
  
But Goten ended up winning anyway. Bardock dropped onto the grass hard, as Goten levitated down after him. Kakarot followed suit.  
  
"Are you all right, Father?"  
  
"Of course I'm all right!" snapped Bardock. "I'm a Saiyan! Now then, boy, are you up for another round?"  
  
And with that Bardock launched himself right at Goten, and the fight began anew.  
  
***  
  
Four hours later. Capsule Corporation.  
  
Vegeta opened the door of the gravity chamber. Nappa and Raditz looked utterly humiliated, while Trunks didn't appear to even be breathing that hard.  
  
"Ah, Father. May I stop suppressing my power now?"  
  
"Yes, go ahead." As Trunks returned to his everyday level, Vegeta continued. "So, how many times was it?"  
  
Trunks's teachers would have been shocked to hear the number he recited. When he felt like it, Trunks could be cruelly brilliant.  
  
"A good job, boy. Take the rest of the day off, go do whatever it is you do when you're not training."  
  
As Trunks sprinted happily out of the room, Vegeta looked upon Nappa and Raditz.  
  
"You're pathetic, the pair of you. Beaten by a child. And you call yourself Saiyans. Still, I can sense that you've improved a small bit. But not much. Now get out, it's my turn."  
  
***  
  
Bardock and Goten were still going at it.  
  
Goten panted. Bardock's pattern of constant offense was beginning to slowly wear him down; if this war of attrition kept up, it wouldn't be long before Bardock could finally claim a victory against his grandson. Goten was good at defense--you had to be, when your regular sparring partner was Trunks--but he was starting to be overwhelmed.  
  
Finally, when Bardock managed to knee him the stomach, Goten reacted on instinct. He powered up, and the sheer force of the ki aura threw Bardock back a huge distance, into a cliff. He went through it.  
  
Kakarot had gone to eat, so it was just Goten there, kneeling, attempting to get his breath back. *That probably took care of him for the day. I'll go get him.* Worn out, he began to walk to the cliff.  
  
Then, suddenly, he sensed it. *No! That can't be right!*  
  
Bardock smashed back through the cliff. He was bleeding, bruised, battered, and had what looked like a broken leg, but he looked happier than he had the whole day. "Excellent manuever, boy, but not good enough!"  
  
Bardock used his functional leg to kick Goten upside the head. "Apparently your father never taught you the prime rule of Saiyan fighting--don't check on an opponent unless you know they're dead!"  
  
The Saiyan warrior aimed another kick, but Goten ducked it, and punched Bardock hard enough to send him catapulting into the air.  
  
It looked like it wouldn't take too long for Bardock to recover, return to the ground, and resume the close quarters combat. Goten knew he had to finish this quickly.  
  
"Ka...me...ha...me...HA!"  
  
Bardock was in no shape to dodge the Kamehameha as it reached him. As the devastating beam washed over him, Bardock fell to the ground. He was definitely unconscious this time.  
  
Goten smiled for a moment. Then he had a horrific thought. *I beat up my grandpa. What's Mom gonna say?* 


	6. And So It Begins...

The next day. Bulma was on the phone with Chi-Chi.  
  
"I swear, Chi-Chi, they've only been here two days and already these Saiyans are starting to get on my nerves. Even Vegeta wasn't this bad when he first started living here."  
  
"Well, Vegeta had something to occupy him. First the training, then you."  
  
Bulma laughed. "True, true. And how's Bardock?"  
  
"Uhh. Bardock. It seems like every other second he's mentioning his Saiyan pride or Saiyan strength or Saiyan something or other. What these guys really need is some time to get used to Earth."  
  
Bulma finished her sentence. "And out of our hair?"  
  
"Exactly." She chuckled. "A road trip, or something."  
  
"Oh, that'd be a brilliant move. Send three Saiyans totally unused to Earth out on the road by themselves. No, someone would have to go with them."  
  
"Well, I don't think we should send anyone like Kuririn or Kamesen'nin."  
  
"You're right. It should be a Saiyan thing. Would Goku go?"  
  
"If I talked to him about it. But he can't drive. Neither can these Saiyans. So who would drive?"  
  
It only took about a second to decide, really.  
  
***  
  
"NO! ONNA! I'M NOT DOING THIS! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME DO THIS, ONNA! NO!"  
  
Vegeta tried to run out of the room but Bulma grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.  
  
"And why not?" said Bulma a bit angrily.  
  
"Drive those low-class idiots around the world?! Woman, you ARE insane!"  
  
"Oh, come on, Vegeta! Nappa isn't low-class, you said it yourself, he's an elite!"  
  
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "And he's an idiot! I'd rather look at Kakarot's family photos than be stuck in the car with Nappa!"  
  
"So you can't handle what some low-classes could?"  
  
That did it. "Of course I can!"  
  
"Then prove it."  
  
"Well...well, who says the idiots will agree to go?"  
  
"You're their prince. If you command them, they'll have to go."  
  
He was beaten, and he knew it. "Woman..."  
  
"Come on. I'll make it worth your while." She flashed him a saucy smile.  
  
"Oh, all right."  
  
"That's the prince I know and love. We'll plan this tomorrow. Now, hit the lights and show Princess Bulma what you're made of."  
  
***  
  
The next day, Vegeta gathered with the non-Saiyans to determine what the Saiyans should see and experience in order to get acclimated to Earth. Vegeta didn't really pay attention, he just let his thoughts meander to the misery he would be experiencing soon. Whenever an inquiry was directed at him, he just mumbled "mm."  
  
*Well, it can't be that long. Just a few days, a week at most. Then I can distance myself from those idiots for a long while.*  
  
"Ok Vegeta, we've finished planning out the trip!" Bulma's voice snapped him out of his trance.  
  
"Good! How long will it be?"  
  
"According to this chart, um...180 days."  
  
***  
  
The next thing Vegeta knew, he was lying in the hospital wing while Kuririn was sending jolts of ki energy through his heart, much like a defibrilator.  
  
"W-what happened?"  
  
"Vegeta! Everyone, Vegeta's alive!" Kuririn shouted to everyone else, who was standing around nervously.  
  
Bulma ran over and embraced him tightly. "Oh, Vegeta! We thought you were dead!"  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"You just dropped unconscious as soon as we said the trip would take 180 days--"  
  
***  
  
"Ah! What was that?"  
  
"You just had a blackout! Vegeta, you've got to learn to accept the fact that you'll be out on the road with them for 180 days!"  
  
Everyone held their breath. Vegeta didn't blackout this time, though he did feel a bit woozy. He'd finally learned to handle it.  
  
"I...I didn't even know there were enough things to look at on this planet for 18 days! But 180?!"  
  
"Vegeta, the only things you like to look at are the all-you-can-eat buffets! There's more to Earth than restaurants! All of us chose a few locations we thought they should go to, and it added up to 180 days!"  
  
"Baka...by then the Namekian Dragonballs will be ready again...and I won't even be here for the contest...too bad, if I could, I'd wish those three back to hell."  
  
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."  
  
***  
  
Kakarot agreed quite eagerly to the trip; he thought it sounded like fun. The others...were a bit more hesitant.  
  
***  
  
"A 180 DAY ROAD TRIP?! TO LEARN ABOUT THIS WRETCHED PLANET?!" Bardock, Raditz, and Nappa yelled.  
  
"I don't like it anymore than you! But we have no choice. Now, as your, prince, I am commanding you to come!"  
  
"But if you don't like it, then...who's making you...?" Nappa puzzled.  
  
Raditz burst out laughing. "Your mate! By Freeza's horns, I bet that's it! Your mate's making you do this!"  
  
Bardock began to snicker.  
  
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP OR I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"  
  
They shut up.  
  
***  
  
Over the next few days, the preparations for the road trip were made. Bulma showed Vegeta the route that had been planned out for them. She offered to make hotel reservations, but he had turned them down, saying that the Saiyans could sleep in the car.  
  
Chi-Chi and Bulma had, of course, done all the packing; their husbands had no idea how. They had found the perfect aircar to take. It was more of an air-minivan, really.  
  
***  
  
Finally, the day arrived. Vegeta got in the driver's seat.  
  
"Shotgun!" Kakarot yelled happily, climbing in beside him.  
  
Bardock took the middle row of seats, while Nappa and Raditz took the last one. Gohan finished loading the sparse amounts of luggage into the trunk.  
  
"Don't forget, you'll be using the Capsule Corp. account, so you have basically all the money you need. Now get out there and have a good time. See you in 180 days. I love you!" Bulma gave Vegeta a small kiss on the cheek.  
  
"...love you too..." Vegeta muttered as the others in the car laughed. Vegeta started the engine. 


	7. Day One...

Vegeta backed the air-minivan out of the driveway. Waving one last time to the assembled group, he put it in drive and began to head down the road.  
  
As soon as the Capsule Corp. building was out of sight, Vegeta pulled over. He swivelled his head around so that he could look at all the other occupants of the vehicle.  
  
"I'm only going to say this once, so listen up! No talking! This trip is going to be hell enough as it is without your fool chattering! So if I hear you talking..." Vegeta drew his finger across his throat. "Understand?"  
  
The others gulped, and nodded.  
  
"Good!"  
  
***  
  
Of course, it didn't take long for this peace to be broken.  
  
And of course, it was Kakarot who did it.  
  
"So, Father..." he began, turning around in his seat.  
  
"Kakarot! What did I say? No talking!" Vegeta shouted, barely taking his eyes off the road, yet still managing to shoot daggers.  
  
"Sorry Vegeta," Kakarot whispered humbly. They rode in silence for a few minutes. Then, Kakarot spoke again.  
  
"Please, Vegeta? This is kinda boring..."  
  
"Oh, all right! But just be quiet about it!"  
  
"Thanks! So, Father..."  
  
"Yes? What do you want to know?" said Bardock.  
  
"I hear you were a great scientist..."  
  
Bardock burst into laughter. "Great scientist? Hell no! I'm a warrior! Who the hell told you I was a great scientist?!"  
  
"There's a restaurant! Come on! Let's go! Time to eat!" Vegeta said loudly, parking the air-minivan.  
  
***  
  
The Saiyans had a good time in the restaurant, and even Vegeta had to admit it wasn't too bad. The newly revived Saiyans had received devices from Bulma that let them learn all languages spoken on Earth in their sleep, so they were able to read their menus without requiring assistance from Vegeta or Kakarot.  
  
Without any "important" humans like Chi-Chi or Bulma around, the Saiyans didn't have to bother about things like "manners." Napkins? That's what the tablecloth is for. Different forks for different servings? If they were going to use any forks at all, one would suffice. Humans staring? Well, four of them didn't care--they were superior beings--and the last didn't notice. He never did.  
  
Finally, however, the restaurant had run out of food. After the waiter came by with the quite sizable bill, Vegeta opened his wallet and removed his special Capsule Corp. credit card. As they waited on the waiter's return, Raditz looked at the card.  
  
"Cardholder's name: Vegeta Briefs?!"  
  
Nappa almost choked. "That's HER name! YOU'VE taken on HER name?!"  
  
"It's for legal reasons, you bakas! Do you hear? LEGAL REASONS!" Vegeta shouted. Not that it did any good. His subjects continued to snicker.  
  
"You three, shut up! And Kakarot, whether or not you live is totally dependent on you moving your hand away from my hair and failing to ruffle it in a so-called 'playful' fashion."  
  
***  
  
The first planned stop on the route was, to Vegeta's horror...a mall. Apparently Bulma thought the Saiyans should experience a regular mall.  
  
"Ok you fools, the itenirary calls for us to stay here...oh no...two hours. Fortunately, we can always just spend that time in the food court."  
  
Everyone liked this idea. Spend two hours in the food court they did, using the special Capsule Corp. credit card--which Bardock, Nappa, and Raditz still laughed at.  
  
But Vegeta got his revenge pretty soon.  
  
"Hey, Raditz," Vegeta said.  
  
"Yes, Prince Vegeta?"  
  
"Look over at that female. I think she is, as the Earthlings put it, 'checking you out.'"  
  
Indeed, more than a few girls and women were looking admiringly at Raditz, whose vest did little to conceal his physique. Vegeta had simply directed him to the best-looking one.  
  
"Not bad, is she?"  
  
Raditz mumbled something, and bent industriously over his food. Of course, Saiyans always bent industriously over their food, but Raditz took it even further.  
  
"I didn't hear you, Raditz. You need to speak up," said Vegeta evilly.  
  
"I said, I guess not, Prince Vegeta," said Raditz.  
  
"Well then, why don't you go over and talk to her? Get her name and her 'telephone number,' that will let you talk to her later."  
  
"Prince Vegeta--" Raditz started to object, but Vegeta cut him off with an icy glare. Raditz reluctantly rose from the table and walked over to the woman. He returned a few seconds later with a piece of paper clutched in his hand.  
  
"I have done it, Prince Vegeta."  
  
"Excellent. Now, you'd better give that paper to me. Wouldn't want you to accidentally lose it, now would we?"  
  
Taking it from Raditz, Vegeta put the paper in his pocket.  
  
Vegeta smirked. *One humiliated, two to go.* 


	8. Whine, Women, And Song...

That night, they did as Vegeta had said, and slept in the car. Kakarot and Bardock each took one of the seats up front. The middle seat was folded down, and Raditz and Nappa took it. Vegeta, as was his royal privilege, had the back seat all to himself.  
  
It wasn't long before Kakarot began to snore. Vegeta--who was the night owl of the group and thus the only one still awake--grimaced.  
  
It wasn't long before the snoring trait proved to be hereditary, as Bardock soon followed suit. Vegeta attempted to stuff his gloves in his ears.  
  
***  
  
Bulma had insisted they take an alarm clock, no doubt because of the notorious Saiyan trait of sleeping in. After Vegeta had turned the cursed thing off, for once they all agreed to a plan of action: Breakfast.  
  
Vegeta guided the vehicle to a diner, frequented mostly by truckers. As the new arrivals walked in the door, the customers already there sized them up. They didn't seem too impressed by Vegeta, Raditz, Kakarot, or Bardock, but Nappa seemed to make an impression on them.  
  
Instead of obeying the sign that said "please wait to be seated," they seated themselves at the counter bar. The waitress approached.  
  
"What can I get y'all?"  
  
As it turned out, what she could get them turned out to be "everything. Lots of it. And keep it coming."  
  
***  
  
As Vegeta finished his fifth plate of bacon, he decided this wasn't such a bad place. Sure it was filthy, and the food was nothing special, but they did keep it coming, and quickly. Whenever he was done with one plate, here came another.  
  
Ah--yes, indeed, here was a sixth plate of bacon.  
  
***  
  
Once they were finally done, Vegeta learned two things about Raditz--he was a joker, and he never knew when to stop.  
  
The others had apparently learned not to laugh at the "Vegeta Briefs" credit card, but not Raditz.  
  
"Raditz, you fool, stop laughing now or you're going to pay," growled Vegeta.  
  
And even though Raditz did stop, Vegeta thought he would make him pay anyway. And he knew just how to do it.  
  
***  
  
The schedule for the day included going to a courthouse and watching the end of a murder trial, supposedly to learn how the justice system worked, but the only thing that the Saiyans were interested in was hearing what methods of punishment were available when the man was found guilty.  
  
As they drove to the next stop on the list, Kakarot said he wanted to listen to the radio. He turned it on and meddled with it until he found some music he liked. Unfortunately, Raditz didn't like it.  
  
So Kakarot meddled with it some more until some music Raditz found tolerable began to play. Unfortunately, Bardock didn't like it.  
  
So Kakarot meddled with it some more until some music Bardock found tolerable began to play. Unfortunately, Nappa didn't like it.  
  
So Kakarot meddled with it some more until some music Nappa found tolerable began to play. Unfortunately, Kakarot himself didn't like it.  
  
It was at this point that the radio was destroyed by a small ki blast from a very tense-looking Vegeta.  
  
***  
  
Not too long after, Vegeta parked the air-minivan outside of a small electronics shop. He returned a few minutes later with four devices.  
  
"Baka. Here you go. You can use these so that you can each listen to whatever you want." He showed them how to use them, then settled back into his seat and continued driving.  
  
It wasn't long before Vegeta's worst fear was realized. All four of them settled on one station. Kakarot began to sing, and it wasn't long before the other three joined in.  
  
For the true impact, the gentle reader must understand that there are few things in the universe that sound worse than a singing Saiyan.  
  
Four quick ki blasts later, and the miniature personal radios were destroyed.  
  
***  
  
The next stop was Superworld, an amusement park. Vegeta had to face a difficult choice--stay in the vehicle and let the other four run throughout Superworld unchaperoned, or go with them and be forced to endure the park. In the end, he chose the park.  
  
*In case they blow something up, at least then I can lie somewhat believably and describe the surroundings when I say I tried to stop them.*  
  
***  
  
"Is that the best you fools can do?" the prince of all Saiyans said, amused despite himself.  
  
The others were gathered in front of a "Make Your Own Cotton Candy Cone" Machine. Kakarot and the others had produced a cone nine feet high.  
  
"Hmph. My son and Kakarot's youngest were able to create a twelve foot high one. Then they cut it in half and split it. Once again you find yourselves outdone by children."  
  
They shot him a look, but didn't dare to speak out against their prince.  
  
***  
  
On their way out, Vegeta halted them.  
  
"I need to use the telephone," he said, striding over to one of the public-use telephones.  
  
"What's he doing," mumbled Nappa in a very low voice Vegeta could hear despite both the low volume of Nappa and the high volume of the crowd, "going to talk to that worthless mate of his for support?"  
  
*You'll pay for that one, Nappa. No one insults Bulma and gets away with it. Lucky for you that this call is part of my revenge against Raditz. Unluckily, the way you get paid back will be much, much worse.*  
  
He opened his wallet, and took out a piece of paper.  
  
***  
  
After the call was completed, they drove a few miles. Vegeta pulled over once again, near a large fruit stand.  
  
"No, you cannot get any fruit," he snarled, answering the others' unspoken question. "I'm meeting someone."  
  
No sooner had he spoken then someone came out from under one of the stands. It was a woman. A very specific woman.  
  
"AH! NO! BAKA BAKA BAKA!!" yelled Raditz.  
  
It was the beautiful woman whom Raditz had spoken to in the mall. She approached the air-minivan, and Vegeta motioned for Kakarot to open the door for her.  
  
"Everyone, this is...Ms. Iroke, is it? Yes, Ms. Iroke."  
  
"What's she doing here?!" shouted Raditz.  
  
"Funny you should ask, Raditz. Ms. Iroke here is our companion for the rest of the voyage. Well, I say our companion, but I have the feeling she'll focus mostly on you. Nappa, move up with Bardock, let Raditz and Iroke have the back seat all to themselves."  
  
Once Nappa had moved up, Iroke got in the van and went back to sit next to Raditz.  
  
"Hello again, Raditz! Isn't this nice, we're going to be together for the rest of the trip!"  
  
Raditz, expressionless, looked forward to where Vegeta was grinning evilly back at him. *Memo to self, never make him mad again.* Raditz thought  
  
"Oh yes, very nice," was what he actually said, very blandly. 


	9. Who's On First?...

For the first time since the damn thing started, Vegeta found he was having a good time. Raditz seemed to have adopted an expression of permanent vacuousness, always staring off into the middle distance at nothing. This despite the attentions of Iroke, who seemed to have quite the crush on the Saiyan warrior; she constantly had at least an arm around him, and often she would sit in his lap.  
  
Bardock seemed to have some mild interest in his surroundings, but this was not shared by Nappa, who was currently asleep.  
  
Kakarot was babbling away excitedly about all the places they were going to visit. Vegeta had to admit that he was having a difficult time coming up with a way to get revenge on him for wishing the others back to life; Kakarot was not easily embarassed.  
  
*Well, I'll think of something. Just you wait Kakarot, just you wait. But in the meantime, I need you.*  
  
"Kakarot!" Vegeta suddenly yelled out.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I need you to read this map and tell me which way to go. I can't do it and drive at the same time." Letting Kakarot have the map probably wasn't the best idea he'd ever had, but at least he was somewhat familiar with the world. The three other Saiyans had no idea about the planet; and as for Iroke, well, it would be a cold day in hell that Vegeta accepted help from a human female not named "Bulma." And so the cruel arithemetic boiled down to letting Kakarot have the map.  
  
Vegeta had no idea how cruel the arithmetic would prove.  
  
***  
  
"All right Kakarot, I need to know which way to turn here in order to reach Route 81."  
  
"Left."  
  
"Left?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"I thought you said left."  
  
"Right."  
  
"So I turn right?"  
  
"No."  
  
"I thought you said left."  
  
"Right."  
  
"I thought you said I didn't turn right."  
  
"Right."  
  
Vegeta smacked Kakarot upside the head. "Do I turn left or right?"  
  
"Left."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Right."  
  
"SHUT UP KAKAROT!"  
  
Vegeta turned left at the intersection. It wasn't long before they reached Route 81.  
  
"OK, there's the Kabuki theater."  
  
"I prefer Noh theater myself."  
  
Vegeta opened his mouth to reply before his mind could set off the warning alarms. "No theater? You don't like any?"  
  
And so it went...  
  
***  
  
Once the Kabuki presentation was over, the next stop was the ballpark that housed the Titans, Yamcha's old baseball team.  
  
As they filed into their seats near the top of the stadium--the so called "nosebleed" seats--to await the beginning of the game, Vegeta was grumbling, Kakarot was excited, Raditz, Nappa, and Bardock were indifferent, and Iroke...was Iroke. Enough said.  
  
To the Saiyans' displeasure, it appeared they were seated so high up that the food vendors didn't get to them. Blast it.  
  
Finally, the game was about to begin. The opposing team was introduced, then the Titans; the latter with a fanfare that was normally saved for warriors returning from an epic battle.  
  
"And now, to throw out the game ball--Yamcha!" announced the large speakers.  
  
"What? Him?! HERE?!" yelled Vegeta. "Baka! That fool probably made sure we came here today just to watch him!"  
  
Indeed, it appeared to Vegeta that Yamcha cast a quick glance and a grin at him. Vegeta fumed.  
  
"Why does that idiot get to throw out the 'game ball?'" groused Vegeta to himself.  
  
As if on cue, the speakers blared to life again. "Yamcha, ex-player for the Titans and a hero of the planet, celebrates his birthday today. Today has been declared 'Yamcha Day!'"  
  
The prince of all Saiyans laughed so hard that it could be heard throughout the stadium entire. "Him? A hero of the planet?!"  
  
Yamcha shot an angry glare in his direction.  
  
***  
  
Once the game had started, Vegeta was mildly surprised to see Yamcha striding toward him through the row of empty seats.  
  
"You!"  
  
"Yes, human?"  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Simply informing the crowd."  
  
As Kakarot and Iroke looked puzzled, and the other Saiyans snickered, Yamcha began to snarl. "I've had enough of you. You killed me, but I came back and you died too, so no big deal there. Bulma chose you, but I've found someone else, so no big deal there either. But you still have that huge ego, you always have. You have to belittle others to get your kicks, and it seems like I've been your favorite target since Day One!"  
  
Vegeta laughed. "Do you want to settle this now? I won't even have to go Super Saiyan to beat you."  
  
"We'll see about that."  
  
"Kakarot, take the others and clear out of here. This is between him and me."  
  
Kakarot looked concerned as two of his friends were about to fight, but did as the prince of Saiyans ordered. Soon, the upper level of stands were cleared save for the two combatants. 


	10. Vegeta Vs. Yamcha...

What followed *should* have been a massacre. But it wasn't, for a few reasons.  
  
Most of them had to do with the fact that Vegeta did not go Super Saiyan. For quite some time, he had been training solely in one of his Super Saiyan modes. This meant while those modes had improved quite a bit in power and speed, his "regular" mode had not.  
  
"Regular" mode was also the only mode that Vegeta stood a chance of losing to Yamcha in; in even the first mode of Super Saiyan, the human simply would have been overwhelmed.  
  
Yamcha had also been doing some furtive training to impress his new girlfriend, so *his* power HAD been increasing.  
  
Finally, Yamcha had been studying Vegeta's moves. Ever since the Majin incident, he had been worried that some other outside force could affect the Saiyan's mind; thus, he had studied Vegeta's moves and had prepared defenses accordingly.  
  
***  
  
Vegeta lunged forward with a punch, but Yamcha managed to dodge it. Dropping to the floor, he performed a somersault kick directly at Vegeta.  
  
The Saiyan backflipped and landed two rows down, only to be met by a rushing Yamcha who managed to score a direct hit to the stomach. Gasping for air, Vegeta retaliated with a kick to the human's head.  
  
They began to fight at close distance at super-speed.  
  
***  
  
Kakarot and the rest hovered in the air above the stadium, Iroke clinging to Raditz. They were watching the fight.  
  
Well, Iroke wasn't. Being a normal human, she couldn't make out anything but a lot of booming noises and blurs.  
  
The three Saiyan warriors were having a difficult time keeping up with all of the action. Only Kakarot could see all the details.  
  
*Amazing! Yamcha's actually managing to stalemate Vegeta! I don't know how, but he is! I don't know who's going to win!*  
  
***  
  
The two warriors leaped back from one another. Both of them were breathing hard and bleeding from more than a couple of locations. Yamcha suddenly smiled.  
  
"I don't think you've seen this attack before. Roga Fufu-ken!"  
  
***  
  
Kakarot gasped; he was the only one who was able to hear Yamcha's words.  
  
*The Fist of the Wolf-Fang Gale?*  
  
Kakarot remembered well the power of that attack; when he had first fought Yamcha, it had nearly been enough to take him out.  
  
***  
  
Vegeta had known that Yamcha was notoriously fast, but his speed suddenly increased even more, launching into a flurry of blows. The Saiyan was not able to block most of them, and when the attack was over, he was laying on the ground.  
  
"Give up?" questioned Yamcha smugly.  
  
"Not a chance!"  
  
Vegeta suddenly flew forward and unleashed a quick series of blows that left Yamcha in the same position that he himself had been in just a moment ago.  
  
"Give up?" said Vegeta in an evil tone of voice.  
  
Yamcha rose to his feet.  
  
Both he and Vegeta charged at each other at the exact same time. They grasped each other's hands in front of them in the classic test-of-strength position.  
  
To both Vegeta's and Yamcha's silent astonishment, they appeared equals in strength. They continued to grapple, the seconds stretching out into long minutes, each seeking some flaw in the other that could be exploited.  
  
Then...Vegeta's cell phone rang.  
  
***  
  
Both combatants blinked. The phone continued to ring.  
  
"You wanna get that?" said Yamcha.  
  
"Fine," grunted Vegeta.  
  
Warily, the fighters stopped struggling and let go of each other's hands. Bulma had managed to force Vegeta into taking a cell phone with him, in case anything important came up. Of course, it was no ordinary cell phone. It was a special capsulized video cell phone.  
  
He activated it, and Bulma's face immediately appeared on the video display.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"  
  
Vegeta and Yamcha snapped into attention, more than a bit intimidated.  
  
"You do know that this little fight of yours is going out over TV! It was so impressive they stopped the game and starting showing you two! Ever since the Cell Games they've created special cameras that can track lunatics like you!"  
  
Slowly, Vegeta and Yamcha turned their heads. Indeed, the crowd, the baseball teams, the coaches, and even the umpires were all looking at them. They looked back at the phone, and said the exact same thing at the exact same time.  
  
"Oops."  
  
Bulma continued to rant for quite some time; how long, no one knew. Then, suddenly, she disappeared.  
  
The two who had been victims of her tirade blinked, slowly. Then they noticed the blinking light.  
  
'BATTERY DEAD.'  
  
She had talked so long she had worn out the battery.  
  
There was a long moment of silence. Then, both Yamcha and Vegeta did something totally unexpected, something Vegeta had done rarely--if ever--and doubted he ever would.  
  
They both collapsed into deep peals of laughter.  
  
***  
  
Kakarot blinked. Was he actually seeing this?  
  
***  
  
"Oh man...that is so totally Bulma," Yamcha wheezed out as he tried to stop laughing and catch his breath.  
  
"Indeed," said Vegeta, starting to recover.  
  
"C'mon man, the bar's this way. I'll buy you a beer."  
  
"Sure, why not."  
  
***  
  
Kakarot blinked again. Apparently the two had found some common ground. He decided he should follow them. He began to slowly drift after them, and waved the others to follow.  
  
***  
  
Several hours later. Vegeta and Yamcha staggered out of the bar, drunk out of their minds, supporting one another as they lurched down the street. The only person who knew how many drinks they had had was the bartender, but he was too busy dreaming about that house he could now buy to remember the exact total.  
  
It had started off with each of them just having a beer in the aftermath of the fight. But somehow that one beer had blossomed into many. Hence their current state.  
  
Kakarot and the others touched down on the pavement. Kakarot grimaced.  
  
"Uh-oh, they've had too much to drink. And I don't remember where Yamcha lives, so I can't drop him off there."  
  
Yamcha appeared to hear him. "Just take me to my girlfriend's house." He rattled off what Kakarot had to assume was the address.  
  
"Hey Yamcha," Vegeta slurred, "Just who is your woman, anyway?"  
  
"You wouldn't know her. Name's Maron, used to date Kuririn for a while." 


	11. Everybody Wants To Rule The World...

The next morning.  
  
Vegeta opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn't. The sunlight streaming through the windows of the air-minivan was blinding and painful, and he had a nasty headache.  
  
Narrowing his eyes, he slowly began to sit up from his makeshift bed of the back seat. Kakarot and Bardock were snoring away in the front two seats. Nappa was sprawled over the middle seat. Raditz and Iroke...  
  
...were nowhere to be seen.  
  
The Saiyan prince, clutching his throbbing temples, noticed various items of discarded clothing scattered throughout the van. And unless he missed his guess, he was sensing their ki powers on the floor below Nappa's "bed." It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened last night. Vegeta was just glad he was drunk enough to miss everything.  
  
*I'll be damned. Looks like he doesn't despise her TOO much then.* He tried to smirk, but it hurt too much.  
  
***  
  
Once his hangover was gone, and once Raditz and Iroke had gotten dressed--Vegeta had carefully averted his gaze, not only for Iroke's sense of privacy but also because he did NOT want to see Raditz in a state of undress--the group continued on their way.  
  
***  
  
A few hours later, Vegeta sighed. It was time for the torture again.  
  
"Kakarot, get the map."  
  
They were currently driving through a large, thick forest.  
  
"Soon the road will be branching off into several different paths. I need to know which one to take.  
  
"No problem!"  
  
*Great,* mused Vegeta grumpily, *he was cheery and self-confident when he said that. We're going to get lost, I know it.*  
  
***  
  
A few minutes later, they reached the fork.  
  
"Kakarot! Which way do I go?"  
  
"Take the one all the way to the left.  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"All the way to the left?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Very well then."  
  
***  
  
Thirty minutes later.  
  
Vegeta scowled. "Brilliant, Kakarot. We've come to a dead end."  
  
Kakarot grinned sheepishly. "Oops. Well, at least the scenery is nice..." he stopped under the prince's withering glare.  
  
Vegeta turned the car around. "Now, get it right this time. Baka."  
  
"Oh, I see the problem! I was holding the map upside-down!"  
  
Vegeta went Super Saiyan out of habit.  
  
***  
  
They arrived back at the fork.  
  
"What is the *correct* way to go?"  
  
"The farthest to the right. I'm sure this time."  
  
***  
  
Thirty minutes later.  
  
Vegeta didn't say anything. He merely stared at the third-class fool sitting beside him. Then he looked out of the car at the sign that said "Dead End," and the road that terminated not long after. Then he looked back to the fool.  
  
"Heh heh," said Kakarot. "I got these two tiny little lines mixed up. Sorry."  
  
The prince went Super Saiyan 2.  
  
***  
  
"Kakarot, only the two roads in the middle are left. Which the hell one do we take?"  
  
"The one on the right."  
  
***  
  
Thirty minutes later, at the not-unexpected dead end, Vegeta didn't say anything. He didn't even look at Kakarot. He simply got out of the car.  
  
He turned Super Saiyan 3.  
  
He started beating his head on the pavement.  
  
***  
  
Having finally located the correct road by process of elimination, they drove on.  
  
It wasn't long, however, before they had to stop again.  
  
***  
  
The Saiyans and Iroke soon found themselves in the middle of a huge traffic jam. They weren't moving at all.  
  
"What the hell is going on? Kakarot, get out and see why the hell we aren't moving."  
  
The low-class Saiyan did as he was ordered.  
  
"Umm...looks like...there are three giant robots blocking the road up ahead."  
  
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Great. Just wonderful," he muttered.  
  
"Hang on...I think I can make out who it is...Pilaf!"  
  
"We don't have any food on us! Now who is it?"  
  
"Emperor Pilaf! And Shu and Mai!"  
  
For a moment, silence. Then--  
  
"You don't mean those nuts you told us about? That you fought back when you were a child? That kept trying to get their hands on the Dragonballs to take over the world?"  
  
"Yep, that's them."  
  
Vegeta sighed. "Get back in the car, I'll handle this."  
  
***  
  
A few miles farther down the road...  
  
Three giant robots were indeed blocking the road. Vegeta smirked. This should be somewhat enjoyable. As he flew, he could distinguish the occupants. He remembered the tales Kakarot had told at Chi-Chi's dinner.  
  
One was what appeared to be a dog in a ninja costume. That would be Shu. Another was a good-looking woman. That was Mai. Which meant that the last, a small blue midget, must be Emperor Pilaf himself.  
  
Vegeta stopped in front of the robots. The occupants were all looking at him with more than a touch of fear.  
  
"Get those damn things off the road," he said simply.  
  
"Who are you to speak so to the all-powerful Pilaf?"  
  
"Do you remember a small child named Son Goku?"  
  
"Yes..." Shu answered hesitantly.  
  
"And do you remember how he would always foil your plans at the last moment?"  
  
"Yes..." Mai responded reluctantly.  
  
"Well...I'm his prince."  
  
There was a pause. Then Pilaf spoke up. "We shall move, but be warned...you have not seen the last of the great Emperor Pilaf!"  
  
"The way things are going lately, I don't doubt that at all," Vegeta muttered as he flew back to the minivan as the robots began to move. 


	12. Majin Bardock...

Time passed...  
  
It now had been 86 days since they had left. Kakarot was still bubbly with enthusiam and high spirits and--to Vegeta--stupidity. Nappa had grown increasingly apathetic. Iroke seemed to have grown on Raditz--they were inseparable now, to the point where one night Vegeta had to yell at them to keep it quiet.  
  
Bardock remained as moody and introspective as ever. Vegeta decided that this would be a perfect time to get his revenge on Bardock. He'd finally developed a plan.  
  
True, it sounded like something Trunks would do, but it would still be nice and cruel.  
  
***  
  
The next morning.  
  
Kakarot woke up slowly. He turned his head to the left to check on his father.  
  
His eyes widened. There was a large, "M"-like symbol on Bardock's forehead.  
  
In an instant Kakarot was in the back seat.  
  
"Vegeta!" he whispered. "Vegeta, wake up!"  
  
"What the hell do you want?" said Vegeta, knowing exactly what he wanted.  
  
"Bardock's been turned into a Majin!"  
  
Silence. Then--  
  
"Kakarot, do you know what you're saying? There can't be anymore Majins, Babidi has been dead for years."  
  
"Well, he's got one of those big 'M's on his forehead and everything!"  
  
"You baka. Let me go and see." Vegeta floated up to where Bardock was still sleeping. Indeed, there was a Majin-symbol on the Saiyan warrior's forehead. Of course, Vegeta knew it would be there.  
  
The prince floated back to Kakarot. "It appears that for once you were right about something. Hm...I have a solution."  
  
***  
  
When Bardock awoke, he found himself bound and gagged, unable to move at all.  
  
"Father, this is for your own good," said Kakarot, who then launched into an explanation.  
  
The infuriated Saiyan looked around wildly. His eyes rested on Vegeta, who smiled evilly and waved a thick marker at him.  
  
*I've learned my lesson, never piss off the Prince,* Bardock thought.  
  
***  
  
And thus it was that Bardock was immobile for the day. Vegeta nearly laughed himself sick at the sight of Kakarot spoon-feeding his father underneath the gag.  
  
***  
  
The next morning. Kakarot looked over at his father, whose restraints had been removed when he went to sleep.  
  
The Majin symbol was gone from his forehead.  
  
Once again, Kakarot was in the backseat in a flash.  
  
"Vegeta! Vegeta!"  
  
"What, Kakarot?"  
  
"The 'M' is gone from my father!"  
  
Silence. Then--  
  
"Kakarot, what the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"You know, the Majin thingy! It's gone!"  
  
"You baka Kakarot. How could Bardock possibly be a Majin? Babidi has been dead for years now. Now shut up and go back to sleep."  
  
As a very confused Kakarot drifted back to his seat, Vegeta grinned to himself. 


	13. Vegeta's Reward...

Time passed...  
  
93 days later. It was the next to last day of the road trip.  
  
For Vegeta, it had been a living hell. But it would all be over soon. Now he simply had to engineer his revenge against Nappa.  
  
After a traditionally large dinner, Vegeta opened up his cellular video phone. He had earlier recharged the battery. Making sure no one was listening, he called Capsule Corporation. His son answered.  
  
"Capsule Corporation, Trunks Briefs speaking." His eyes widened open seeing who it was. "Dad!"  
  
"Hello, son." Vegeta then managed to get out the unfamiliar words. "Could you do me a favor?"  
  
"OK, but make it fast, we're going to head for New Namek and get the Dragonballs soon. What do you want?"  
  
"Get Goten over there, first."  
  
"Ok, I'll be right back!"  
  
His son blasted off. In a few seconds, he returned into view, dragging Goten with him.  
  
"Hello, Vegeta-san."  
  
"Hello. Now, if you two do this right, it'll be 100 extra zeni for each of you."  
  
The two half-Saiyans were suddenly listening very intently.  
  
"Here's what I want you to do..."  
  
He explained his plan. Trunks and Goten were grinning wickedly.  
  
"I trust I can count on you?"  
  
"No problem, Dad. This'll be fun!"  
  
"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Bye!" they echoed in unison.  
  
Shutting off the phone, Vegeta chuckled. *Trunks certainly is my son,* he thought. He capsulized the phone, got in the minivan, and began to drive.  
  
***  
  
Since Kakarot had left, this team it was Gohan's turn to determine who it would be gathering the Dragonballs, and guarding over that person.  
  
"And the winner is..." Gohan stuck his hand in the hat and pulled out a name. "Bulma!"  
  
Once she had gotten over the shock, Bulma couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"This is so ironic," she told the others. "Once again I'm looking for Namekian Dragonballs, and once again Gohan is going to watch over me."  
  
As Gohan prepared to teleport her and himself away--his father had taught him Instant Transmission--everyone smiled.  
  
***  
  
The next afternoon. The Saiyans and Iroke had just finished their tour of Satan City and re-entered the air-minivan.  
  
Vegeta turned to face Kakarot. "Where now?"  
  
Kakarot looked at the list. "Um...nowhere, that was the last stop."  
  
The words were hardly out of his mouth before Vegeta had floored the accelerator.  
  
He had hardly floored the accelerator when his cell phone rang again.  
  
Angrily, Vegeta pulled over to the side of the road. He got out and activated it. Yamcha's face appeared.  
  
"Yamcha? Shouldn't you be on New Namek?"  
  
The man grinned, embarrased.  
  
"Well, ya see, I didn't want to take Maron, I think it would freak her out...and I definitely didn't want to leave her by herself..."  
  
"I get the picture. So why are you calling?"  
  
"Well, it turns out the city is planning to build a strip mall right on top of our house. I sold my apartment a few weeks ago and've been living with Maron ever since. Well, Maron being Maron, she totally forgot about it until the bulldozers pulled up. So I was wondering...can me and her and Pu'ar stay at Capsule Corp. until we find a new place to stay?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Yamcha looked surprised. "Really?"  
  
"Yes, really. But one condition--you tell Bulma. I shall see you later." He turned off the phone, capsulized it, and got back in the car.  
  
***  
  
New Namek.  
  
"Porunga, mighty dragon, hear my words!" Bulma shouted up at the huge dragon. The others watched, interested. They had to wonder what the world's richest woman could want, even if Videl was vying for the title.  
  
"For my first wish, I wish to never have a bad hair day again!"  
  
"Your wish...is granted."  
  
"Hmm..." The heiress to Capsule Corporation really couldn't think of anything else to wish for. She could buy anything, she had great friends, and a loving family.  
  
"What is thy wish?" said Porunga. He seemed to be getting a tad impatient.  
  
Family...  
  
In her mind's eye, Bulma got a mental image of Vegeta on the road...he had put himself through 180 days of what to have been hell because she had asked him to.  
  
Family...  
  
And now, he was no doubt rushing home; to escape the others, yes, but also to see her.  
  
Family...  
  
She gazed up at Porunga, a new glint in her eyes. Now she knew exactly what she would wish for.  
  
***  
  
Vegeta was piloting the air-minivan down the road at speeds that made even the other Saiyans look at him with a touch of fear.  
  
***  
  
Porunga vanished; the Dragonballs flew off to distant parts of the planet. Everyone was staring, dumbstruck, at Bulma.  
  
"Well, that's that," she said cheerfully. "Come on, let's go home."  
  
***  
  
Vegeta pulled into the driveway of Capsule Corporation, slamming on the brakes hard.  
  
"Here we are! Goodbye, Kakarot! Goodbye, Bardock!"  
  
Kakarot got out and opened the door for his father. Bardock nodded at the others while Kakarot waved cheerfully. Then...they were gone, as Kakarot and his father departed.  
  
"Come on! Everyone this way! The luggage can wait until tomorrow!"  
  
As he opened the door to Capsule Corp., he was hit in the chest by a small, purple-haired projectile that knocked him back a couple of steps.  
  
"Dad! Hey Dad!" Trunks was clinging to his father's midsection, holding on tight. Vegeta was torn between anger and amusement. He pried him loose, set him down, and messed with his hair; he, Bulma, and Goten were the only three people on Earth that could get away with this.  
  
"Hello, Trunks. Nice to see you again." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Is everything ready for the big plan tonight?"  
  
"You got it," whispered Trunks back.  
  
"Good." He returned to his normal voice. "Where's your mother?"  
  
"Inside. Everyone else just left. I was just about to head over to Goten's. Mom said you and her would probably like some alone tonight."  
  
As Trunks took off into the sky, Vegeta thought, *You have no idea how right you are.*  
  
***  
  
Vegeta showed Raditz, Nappa, and Iroke the way back to their rooms, then parted company with them for the day. He had a hunch as to where Bulma might be.  
  
***  
  
He was correct. She was in the kitchen, opening some boxes of takeout food. When she saw him, she ran to him. They embraced, and kissed passionately. Finally, they came up for air and began to eat.  
  
Evidently, Bulma had learned; she didn't try to interrupt him and make conversation. In fact, she was almost matching his appetite.  
  
***  
  
They retired to the bedroom, where she insisted on hearing all about the trip. Finally, he finished.  
  
"Sounds like you had a good time. Do I dare to ask what Trunks and Goten are going to do for 100 zeni each to Nappa?"  
  
Vegeta smirked. "You know how Saiyan hair, once fully grown, never regrows. Well, the brats are going to take some tweezers and pluck out each and every hair of Nappa's mustache while he's asleep."  
  
Bulma chortled. "You're cruel, do you know that? Anyway, I got some stuff to show you. While you were gone, I've managed to gain some ki control and increase my power level a bit."  
  
Vegeta sat up. "News to me. You must be suppressing your ki. Show me as high as you can go."  
  
Bulma closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Vegeta could feel her ki rising, and rising, and rising.  
  
*How much has she TRAINED?!*  
  
Then...she went Super Saiyan. Then Super Saiyan 2. Then Super Saiyan 3.  
  
Vegeta's jaw dropped. She was smirking at him.  
  
"This was one of my wishes on the Dragonballs. I knew that when it came to us, you could never fully let yourself go, for fear of hurting me. Well, now I'm a Saiyan, as strong as you. You'll never have to hold back again."  
  
Vegeta closed his jaw and licked his lips. Tonight would prove interesting.  
  
She continued. "I figured, it was the least I could do. And that's just one of the rewards you get by going. Let me get the other."  
  
She walked over and opened another door out in the hall. A man stepped out--no, it was a Saiyan. He looked exactly like Vegeta, but taller, and with mustache and beard. He was the King of all Saiyans.  
  
Vegeta's father.  
  
Both Vegeta and Bulma dropped to one knee; the King bid them rise.  
  
"My son."  
  
"Father." Vegeta seemed visibly nervous. But then...his father smiled.  
  
"My son," he repeated. "You have succeeded beyond all my expectations of you. You have demonstrated in great quantities the Saiyan traits of power and adaptation. You have beget two very powerful children."  
  
"But Father, are you not upset with me for taking a human mate?"  
  
"Of course not. There were no other options. Without her blood flowing in their veins, your children would not be nearly as powerful. And now that she is a Saiyan, your future children will be full-blooded Saiyan super-elites, who can in turn produce powerful children of their own. The Saiyan race will not die out as soon as we had imagined. And you will be patriarch of the most powerful family in the entire cosmos."  
  
"But Father...how...how are you here?"  
  
"Your mate. Reviving me was her final wish on these so-called Dragonballs. She knew how much you longed to be King. Well, now I am here to relinquish the title to you. Are you ready for the Ceremony of the Passing?"  
  
Vegeta nodded.  
  
***  
  
For a Saiyan ceremony, it proved to be surprisingly peaceful. The King placed his hands on Vegeta's temples. There was a flash of light. When it had cleared, Vegeta's bearing seemed to be even more royal than before.  
  
"It is done," said the old King. "You now possess all the powers and responsibilties that I once had. And now, I must depart this plane. It is not meant for me. Goodbye, King and Queen of the Saiyan race."  
  
Speaking so, he places his hand over his heart. He glowed for a moment, then...he was gone. The only trace of him was a tiny wisp of smoke.  
  
There was no need to mourn; instead, Vegeta guided Bulma back into the bedroom and turned off the lights.  
  
*It's good to be king,* Vegeta thought as he embraced her.  
  
END  
  
Author's notes--  
  
The current tally of people living at Capsule Corp.--Vegeta, Bulma, Trunks, Bra, Dr. Briefs, Mrs. Briefs, Nappa, Raditz, Iroke, Yamcha, Maron, Pu'ar.  
  
Well, that was my first DBZ fanfic. I hope you enjoyed it!  
  
Be on the lookout for at least two sequels!  
  
Please leave some reviews!  
  
Until we meet again,  
  
-Thanos6 


End file.
